INSTRUCTOR: Dr. Carol Lawrence
OFFICE 114, Braswell
OFFICE HOURS MWF 9:10-10:10am, TTh 2:30-3:30pm or by appointment
OFFICE PHONE 985-5183
BUILDING AND ROOM BA 234
WEB SITE http://faculty.ncwc.edu/clawrence/
EMAIL clawrence@ncwc.edu

TEXT: Helping Children Learn Mathematics, Sixth Edition, R. Reys, M. Lindquist, D Lambdin, N. Smith, M Suydam, John Wiley &Sons, 2001 .

OTHER REQUIRED MATERIALS:

-Principles and Standards for School Mathematics, National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, NCTM, Inc., 2000. I will take orders for these the first day of class.

-The Scott, Foresman Handbook for Writers,Sixth Edition, M. Hairston, J. Ruszkiewicz, C. Friend,
Addison-Wesley Publishers, 2002.

PREREQUISITE: MAT 111 and admission to the Teacher Education Program.

COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course is designed for the K-6 teacher. Process and content are emphasized. Teaching strategies, techniques, and learning activities for the K-6 mathematics content are discussed. Students will demonstrate teaching techniques. This course is writing intensive.

OBJECTIVES OF THE COURSE: Students who successfully complete MAT 302 will

COURSE OVERVIEW: This course is designed to help you help children understand mathematical concepts. Learning mathematics is a vibrant, active and interactive, ongoing process. This holds true for learning to teach mathematics also. As you study how children learn mathematics and ways you can facilitate this learning, you will begin developing your own philosophy for teaching mathematics based on these understandings. As you gain experience working with children, you will want to reflect upon your philosophy and revise it when warranted. This course will help you develop the foundation you need for designing, reflecting upon, and redesigning appropriate mathematics instruction and assessment. Your philosophy of teaching and how students learn will influence your effectiveness in the classroom and the attitudes of your students toward mathematics.

ATTENDANCE: All students are expected to attend every class. We cover many concepts in a short period of time, so you will want to stay current on all material and activities. The college policy for attendance will be followed closely, i.e. 2 unexcused absences will result in the student being dropped from the course. See p. 75 of the 2001-02 College Catalogue. No make-up tests will be given for unexcused absences.

GRADING: 

Course Grade:

FINAL EXAM Wednesday, December 5, 2001,11:00am-1:00pm

WRITING INTENSIVE: MAT 302 is a writing intensive course. Therefore, you must demonstrate your ability to write satisfactorily. Writing assignments will be both formal and informal. The formal writing exercises consist of one lesson plan, two article reviews, your philosophy for teaching math and one field experience. Informal writing assignments will consist of short essays written in-class or as homework. You will have the opportunity to rewrite formal writing assignments. Be sure to have a writing handbook available as a resource for paper organization, grammar, sentence structure, and documentation and use it frequently.

CHEATING AND PLAGIARISM: A scholar is characterized by his/her honesty and fairness. Therefore, a scholar neither gives nor receives "information illicitly with intent to deceive the instructor in his or her effort to grade fairly any academic work" (NCWC Catalog, p. 77-78). Also, a scholar does not take credit for someone's work without giving credit to the creator. The violation of these principles is academic dishonesty and will not be tolerated. The instructor will adhere strictly to the plagiarism and cheating policy as stated in the catalog on pages 64-65.

** It is important that you carefully read each chapter prior to the day it is to be discussed in class. You will be expected to contribute to the day's discussion based upon your prior reading.